by Violet Paige
“Worth it?” he asked.
I nodded quietly. “Yes,” I answered. “You were right. It’s amazing.”
“Want to try to get down to one of the pools?” There was a rocky path nearby that led to the landings. Below them were levels of pools that all fed into each other. It was like they were stacked the perfect height, one on top of the next, creating a never ending cascade.
“I do.” I smiled, wiping the water from my cheeks. “We have to get to that bottom one.” I pointed to my target, a crystal blue pool at the lowest level of the waterfall.
Jeremy laughed. “Should I carry you?”
“No way. I’m doing this on my own.” I dropped his hand and started down the trail ahead of him.
“Hey, Evie, be careful.” Jeremy chased after me.
Something hit me when I saw that waterfall. Something powerful and overwhelming. It didn’t matter why I was here, or how I got to this spot. What mattered was that I took every single damn step on my own. If it hadn’t been for Jeremy, I would have missed this. I didn’t know I needed it. He pushed me to get here, but I had a goal now. I was going to make it to that pool.
I held branches and grabbed leaves as I lowered myself along the steep path. I wiped the water from my eyes. They burned, but I never lost sight of where I was going.
“You could slow down,” Jeremy called from behind.
“You’re the one who said I was slow.” I kept moving. It was a lot easier going in this direction than trying to hike up the volcano.
“That was motivation. I guess it worked.”
I huffed. I had this.
The trail was so over-grown, the vines were in our hair and hitting our legs. I prayed I wasn’t allergic to anything in the jungle. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my honeymoon treating a weird tropical rash.
The brush let up, and I stepped onto a sandy spot. I grinned. This was it. The last of the pools. The one I wanted.
“Ok, now we can take a picture together,” I announced. “For the honeymoon album.”
“There’s a honeymoon album?” His eyebrows raised over the aviators.
“Documentation,” I explained.
“Right.” He stood next to me, smiling as I snapped the picture.
I checked the shot, realizing it was the first picture we had taken together. I looked at Jeremy. Everything about us was so muddled. So messy. We were close. We were distant. We had chemistry and banter. But there were secrets and agendas. We were friends and we weren’t.
He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Are you glad we did this?”
I tucked the phone into my pack. “Yes,” I admitted. “I am.”
We took the flat trail back to the main road. Our rental car was parked in a nearby lot. Jeremy opened the door for me and tossed our packs in the backseat.
He started the ignition and glanced at me. “I had no idea how fucking hard that was going to be.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “What?”
He pulled onto the highway and steered us toward the resort. “We seriously could have broken our legs, Evie.”
“What!” I hit him on the arm. “That entire time I thought you were judging me for wimping out.”
“Yeah, I kind of had to make you think that, so we didn’t die.”
“You were scared that entire time? No way.” I shook my head. He had been calm. He had been certain and steady. He had nagged and teased me.
“Not the entire time, but about an hour in I realized we were fucked.” He laughed. “I can’t believe we did the whole thing. Up and back. You’re fucking amazing.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you say something when we had a chance to turn around?”
“What? Admit to the tour guide at the vacation center we couldn’t do it? No way in hell was I going to do that.”
I rolled my eyes. “We could have died on that trail for your pride. Good to know where your priorities lie.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “We didn’t die. And it was fucking incredible. Watching you push yourself like that. We pushed each other. That’s not everyday shit.”
He kissed the inside of my palm and I felt my stomach flip with involuntary butterflies. I was supposed to be angry, not feeling flirty. I should smack him, not want to lean over and kiss his mouth. I wanted to climb in his lap and celebrate our survival. I wanted to strip out of these dirty, wet clothes and spend the rest of the night using our bodies to feel good again.
“Tomorrow, we’re doing something I want to do. No matter what it is,” I dared him to protest.
“Deal.” He turned onto one of the side roads. “Tomorrow is your day. I’m in.”
I leaned back into my seat. Every part of my body was exhausted—all the way to the deepest part of my bones. But I had a new sense of accomplishment I didn’t know I was seeking. And Jeremy was right. It felt fucking incredible.
4
Jeremy
My wife looked fucking hot. Almost too hot. She rolled onto her stomach, unlacing the ties that held her top together. The strings fell to the side. We had a private cabana for the entire time we were in Tahiti, but I didn’t want anyone else to see what I saw. I was tempted to throw a beach towel over her. I wasn’t a caveman. I was a protective husband. Protecting what was mine.
She sighed. “This feels good.”
I liked the contented look on her face. Her hair was braided to the side. The tiny scraps of fabric she called a bathing suit clung to her curves. God, they were delicious heavenly curves. The sun made her skin look golden.
I looked down when my phone vibrated. As soon as Evie turned her face in the opposite direction, I picked it up and scanned the emails that had come in over the past few hours.
Sasha was wired the same way I was. She almost never slept and worked at all hours of the night and day. Running the company was the same thing to her as living and breathing. She hadn’t stopped once since I left New York. This last batch of emails didn’t contain good news. It was the opposite. Fuck.
I sat forward, letting my legs dangle into the water under the cabana. The paradise surrounding me fell away when I read that I had lost another investor. Sasha didn’t give a reason. She only sent the new projections without his capital backing the project.
I needed to get him back on board or find someone to replace him. How was I going to do that sitting in Tahiti? I shot back a quick email, asking Sasha to send as many details as she could. I needed facts to construct a strategy.
I stared at the screen, waiting for her response, but nothing popped up. “Come on, Sasha,” I growled at my phone.
“Did you say something?” Evie twisted in my direction.
I tucked the phone away. “I think I’m going to go for a swim.” I needed a distraction. I needed to use my body. It was the best way to clear my head.
“Ok. I’m just going to lie here and do absolutely nothing.” She sounded sleepy.
I stretched and stepped away from the chaise so I could dive off the edge of the cabana into the sea. I was submerged, pushing through the salt water, trying to shove the bullshit of the lost investment out of my mind. This was exactly the reason I didn’t take vacations. This was why I was never out of reach. I didn’t like feeling behind. I didn’t like the lack of control. I didn’t like relying on Sasha for something this huge. There was a shift in her since she found out about Evie and me, and I didn’t like it.
I broke through the surface of the water, grabbed a gulp of air, and dove underneath again. Our part of the lagoon was barricaded with protective netting to guard against sharks and jellyfish. As I looked out at the ocean, I wanted to swim beyond the shield. I wanted to keep swimming until there was nothing on the horizon. I wanted the bullshit behind me. What was swimming with sharks compared to the war I dealt with at home?
My fingers touched the net and I paddled upright. I crossed my arms on the top of the barrier and rested for a moment, suspended in the lagoon. Evie was a small speck on the cabana. She was
probably asleep by now.
I knew this trip wasn’t going to last two weeks. I’d lose my fucking mind if we stayed here that long. I had to get back to civilization. Back to the office. Back to where I could control the money.
I turned from the border and swam back to the cabana. I didn’t think the swim did much to clear my head. Instead, it only cemented my plan to cut the honeymoon short. I pushed up on the deck as the water dripped from my body and my shorts. I wiped my hands off before checking my phone again. There was nothing from Sasha. She had gone silent.
Evie breathed lightly. I ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn’t tell if things were getting ready to come crashing down.
She shifted, drawing her arms overhead. I thought I saw a smile on her plump lips. She must have been having one hell of a dream.
I had an insurance policy. I had access to the money I needed. I had to remind myself of that. As soon as Evie was pregnant, the investors wouldn’t matter as much. I wouldn’t need them like I did now. Their money was no longer critical to buying the team. She was the key to everything I wanted. Our baby had the power to give us an incredible future.
When I proposed, I wasn’t torn apart like this. I offered Evie a deal. But now when I looked at her I saw more than a contract partner. She was no longer just the woman who would have my heir. She was my wife. She was mine. It had happened when I wasn’t looking or expecting it. I didn’t want anything complicated. I didn’t want strings and feelings. I sure as hell didn’t want to fall for my wife. But shit, I was in deeper than I should be. It fucking terrified me.
Her eyes fluttered open. She held the towel to her chest and spun around. “How was your swim? Was I asleep long?” She yawned.
I rose from the chaise and walked around her chair, loosening the tie on the curtain. “The swim was good. I needed to cool off.” I yanked it until her side of the cabana was covered, and then I walked to the other two open sides and did the same thing.
“I don’t think you were asleep long.”
“I love cat naps,” she purred, rolling on her back.
I tied the last set of cords together, securing the drapes.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
I turned from my task. “Today is your royal treatment at the resort. Isn’t that what you wanted after the waterfall hike?”
She pulled her sunglasses to the brim of her nose. “You can’t be serious. Out here?”
I lowered myself to her chaise. “It’s private.” I kissed the inside of her thigh.
I didn’t have a great way to express how much I wanted her to have my baby. How much I wanted him to grow inside her. How I wanted her body to connect us even more. The only way I knew how to do that was to show her.
She wiggled underneath me. “Jer, we’re outside.”
“On our honeymoon,” I reminded her. “You shouldn’t wear these bikinis.” I tugged on the string and the bottoms fell off. “Unless this is what you planned when you put it on this morning.”
She moaned as I pushed her knees wide. Her protests turned to gasps as I opened that sweet slit of hers and licked, lashing over her clit.
Her hands moved away and the towel landed on the deck. Her tits perked and I began to devour her pussy, sucking and ravishing her tight bud until she quivered beneath me. I pushed my tongue inside her, feeling her come undone. I lapped at her juices while the quakes rattled her, one after another.
“Oh, Jer—” She pulled a fistful of my hair, pushing me closer to her center. Her hips rolled off the chaise and I tucked a hand under her ass. I ran my fingers through her juices before pressing one to her rosebud.
“Oh shit,” she hissed.
“Shh,” I warned. “Someone’s going to hear you, Mrs. Hartwell.”
I slid my finger inside her virgin hole and she moaned with satisfaction. “Oh God, that feels good. So good and so bad.”
“Not as good as it could feel,” I promised. “Does it hurt?”
She shook her head. “No. It feels…I can’t describe it.”
“Imagine how insane it’s going to feel when I take your virginity.” Her eyes opened suddenly. I laughed. “Not right now.” I pressed a kiss against her mouth. “You’ll get there. But enjoy this part.”
I waggled my eyebrows, pumping my finger in and out of her forbidden backdoor. It drove my cock insane to know I was the only man who would ever be inside her ass. She had been guarded with it. Cautious, yet open to exploring new sensations with me. I took it as far as I could each time, making sure she loved it and wanted more. I didn’t take it for granted that she was giving me something special.
“I. Do. Enjoy. It.” She sucked in heavy breaths as I tested how far I could take it this time. Each step got her a little closer to my cock burying itself in that tight hole of hers.
I leaned forward, sucking her tit between my teeth. Fuck. She had perfect nipples. Every part of her body was beautiful and beckoning. Sometimes I wondered how we accomplished anything during the day other than fucking. It was hard to keep my hands and mouth off her. She was as crazy about my body as I was about hers. We were blue and purple flames licking each other in a twisted fury.
Evie sat forward enough to grab the corners of my swim trunks. They had partially dried in the sun, but she struggled to free my cock.
“Let me help with that,” I offered. My fingers slid from her body as I stood next to the chaise and stepped out of the shorts, fully naked. My cock sprung free, ready for action. Ready to fill her. Ready to give her the promise of a baby.
I lowered myself on top of her. There was no hesitation. Her legs opened and I sank inside her with one thrust.
I growled in her ear as my cock sliced into her swollen pussy. The wet heat wrapped around me. Oh fuck. She took me to a place that was beyond paradise. I pumped in and out of her, driving harder. Deeper. Faster.
“Oh Jer,” she whimpered. Her nails scaled my back. Clawing into my ass. Squeezing my lower back. Running over my jaw until our mouths collided. My tongue danced inside her mouth, twisting with her tongue.
I loved fucking her bare. I almost forgot what it was like to have sex with condoms. Everything with Evie was raw and different. My cock tingled, threatening to explode any second. She did this to me. She drove me wild. She made me want something I never wanted before—I wanted a baby—with her.
“Tell me, Evie,” I groaned into her ear. My spine clenched. “Do you want my baby?”
They were words I thought I’d never ask a woman, but her answer killed me every time. It brought me to my knees. It took my desire to drive my cock to an animalistic place. I wanted her body to grow with my baby. I wanted to see her tits and her belly swell as our tiny baby got stronger every day. I wanted to witness the proof that we could make something incredible together.
“Oh God, yes,” she moaned. “I want your baby. I want you to come hard. Please.”
I rooted inside her, burying my cock in her walls just as the eruption spilled. “Oh fuck.” I grunted, shoving myself as far as I could. I didn’t want a single drop to spill. I wanted all my seed inside her.
Evie trembled as her body shook with her release. I felt her clench my dick and I closed my eyes, knowing we were creating a tiny being. This was never how I used to experience sex. It was like a solid workout—a good way to clear my head and stop thinking. But with Evie, everything was jumbled. There were emotions now. There was hope. There was fucking exquisite ecstasy inside her body. I’d never get over this kind of sex. What had happened to me?
She exhaled and I lowered myself on top of her as we came down from our highs. “Do you think we just made a baby?” I asked.
Her eyes were closed. “I hope so,” she whispered. Her chest rose and fell while she tried to regulate her breathing again.
I kissed her lightly. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“Me too.”
I took my time pulling out of her. I remembered what she had told me about trying to keep my seed inside her. She th
ought it upped her chances of getting pregnant. I’d do whatever it took to increase the odds.
We faced each other on the chaise. The sun peeked over top of the curtains.
“I really do love this honeymoon, Jer. I know it’s not something you planned. If that reporter hadn’t cornered you at the press conference, we wouldn’t be here. But I want you to know I appreciate that you did this. Even if it’s for show. It’s a fantasy trip for me.”
The guilt shattered me. Thirty minutes ago I was trying to figure out how to tell her we were going to cut the trip short. I heard my phone vibrate behind me on my chair, but I ignored it.
“Evie.” I paused. “It’s not just for show.”
She lowered her lashes. “I know. You want me to get pregnant. The baby is the top priority.”
I tipped her chin forward. “More than that.”
Her soft brown eyes stared into mine. I didn’t know how in the hell I was going to navigate any of this. My wife. Our baby. Becoming a father. Running an empire. Nothing was turning out as I planned. It was fucking complicated. Not easy. Not simple.
I was crazy about her. I just didn’t think I was ready to tell her. I couldn’t put my emotions out there. I’d had practice running plays. Practice buying and selling businesses. Hell, I even had practice breaking hearts, but I had no practice sharing these kinds of feelings.
“Like what?” she asked softly. “How is it more?”
I took another look in her eyes, and it was like she lured me in with the promise that there was a safe place to go with her. As if I could trust her fully. I could say any impulsive thing and she’d never run. She’d never leave.
“I’m falling in love with you, Evie Hartwell.” Fuck. I told her anyway.
